Rules and Regulations

Competition

1. TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Article 1 :The International Piano Competition -Istanbul Orchestra’ Sion is aimed at professional pianists or future professional pianists of all nationalities, born on or after January 1st, 1980. Candidates who have previously obtained the First Prize of the International Piano Competition - Istanbul Orchestra’Sion in the past are not allowed to re-run. All the rounds of the competition take place in Istanbul (Turkey), at Notre-Dame de Sion High School, they are public and entry is free of charge.

2. FIRST SELECTION ON VIDEOS

Article 2 : Technical requirements for video recordings Each candidate can present one or more recordings, from various dates and various places. The recording(s) must be recent (less than one year old). The total length of the recording(s) should not exceed 20 minutes. These recordings must be of good technical quality; the face and hands of the candidate must be clearly seen. The recording(s) must contain at least one work from the program that the candidate will play during the eliminatory rounds of the competition.

Article 3 : Registration details for the first selection on videosTo register for preselections on video, candidates must complete a form (link to be found under the heading "registration"). To this form, the candidates must also attach the video(s) and a curriculum vitae.This first registration requires a payment of 60 Euros (payment to be made online or by bank transfer, all the information can be found under the heading "payment").

The registration deadline is October 31, 2019.

Whether you should encounter some difficulty to download the videos through our online process, it is possible to send a DVD by post, until Thursday, October 31, 2019 (postmark attesting), to this address: International Piano Competition - Istanbul Orchestra’Sion
Notre Dame de Sion Fransız Lisesi
Cumhuriyet Cad. 127 Harbiye
34373 Istanbul Turkey

The preselection on videos will take place in November 2019 and all applicants will be contacted no later than November 30, 2019 to be notified whether their application has been accepted or not.

The candidates selected to participate in the competition will fill a second registration file, including the choice of their program, and will have to pay 60 Euros of definitive registration fees.

3. PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMPETITION

Article 4 : Draw
Registration for the competition implies that the contestant has accepted the rules of the competition.Contestants are required to be present at the date and time of the drawing of the lots (traditionally the day before the first day of the competition). It is through this drawing of lots that each contestant will be assigned a date, time and performing order for the competition. A contestant who is absent (for reasons unjustified or invalidated by the Organizing Committee) at the time of the draw will be excluded from the competition.

Article 5 : Compulsory piece by a Turkish composer
The Turkish composer Ali Darmar has been commissioned to compose a piece which will be compulsory . It will be sent by email to the selected candidates on 02 December 2019 and must be presented during the third round of the competition. The duration of this imposed piece will be between 6 to 7 minutes.

Article 6 : Execution of works Contestants are absolutely forbidden to play a work of their own composition. All works must be performed from memory, with the exception of the contemporary Turkish compulsory piece (third round), where the sheet music can be accepted. Within each round, contestants can choose the order of the works they will present.

Article 7 : Musical scores
In the case of a work written after 1950 (work chosen for the first round), a copy of the work may be requested by the President of the jury before the competition.

In all cases, candidates are expected to use and manage their own original scores of the works they perform. The International Piano Competition - Istanbul Orchestra’Sion cannot be held responsible for any fraud that might be committed by a contestant in this field (such as the public use of illegal copies).

Article 8 : Recording and broadcasting
Candidates agree to be photographed, filmed, televised, possibly broadcast live and to appear on our website without claiming any rights or compensation. The competition, as a whole or in parts only, may be broadcast, televised or recorded, broadcast and reproduced by any mechanical means, without being subject to any financial compensation whatsoever. During the gala, or eventually during the TV broadcast, the candidates can be asked to perform a piece of their own program chosen by the President of the jury.

Article 9 : cancellation and major organizational constraints
The organizing committee reserves the right to change the dates of the competition in the event of major organizational constraints which may arise, or to cancel the events if the number of candidates is considered insufficient. Also, if needed, the President of the Competition and the President of the Jury reserve the right to replace, for the final, the orchestra accompaniment with a piano accompaniment by an accompanist appointed by the Competition Organising Board.

Article 10
The registration fees are non-refundable. Traveling and accommodation expenses will be taken care of by the participants themselves. The Organizing Committee is not accountable for the contestants’ medical costs (in case of illness and/or accident) during their stay in Istanbul.

Article 11 : Announcement of results
Candidates formally commit to being present at the announcement of the results at the end of each round, where they will be informed about their competing details and rehearsal times for the next round. They will also be given the opportunity to meet, if they wish, one or more members of the jury.

4. PRIZES AND AWARDS

Article 12
The jury reserves the right not to give out all the awards if the level of the candidates is considered insufficient and retains the right to put an end to a performance at any time, after having gathered the necessary elements for the evaluation of the performance. The decisions of the jury are irrevocable. Any discrepancy from the program announced beforehand may result in the candidate’s disqualification. In case of dispute, only the French version of the rules and regulations on the Competition internet website will be considered.

Article 13 : Prizes and awards
Prizes will be given as follows: the winner of the First Prize will receive 8 000 US dollars, the winner of the Second Prize will receive 4 000 US dollars and the winner of the Third Prize will receive US 2 000 dollars.

The candidates may also be awarded one or several other prizes such as the Ali Darmar Prize; the special prize of NDS Musical Youth Jury Members or any other musical award approved by the president of the competition and by the jury. All prizes will be awarded at the closing gala ceremony at the end of the competition.

Article 14 : Concert offers
The winner of the first prize will be offered the opportunity to perform several concerts (the list of which will be regularly updated on the competition website), including a recital as part of the annual program of the concert hall of the Notre-Dame de Sion High School (Istanbul, Turkey). It is expressly agreed that the concert opportunities offered to the winners will not be remunerated, aside from the prearranged fee.

Article 15
The Organization Committee commits to paying the total sum announced for each award and to organizing a concert at the french High School Notre-Dame de Sion for the winner of the competition. However, the Organization Committee cannot be held accountable for any other offers for which it is not directly responsible (i.e. extra concert offers) and will therefore not accept any legal responsibility in an eventual case of default on the part of his partners.